Key diversity concepts

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Из курса от партнера ESSEC Business School

Diversity and inclusion in the workplace

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ESSEC Business School

Diversity and inclusion in the workplace

69 оценки

Diversity is a fact. It is also paradoxical. We need to be capable of seeing and hearing differences in order to reap the benefits of diversity. But seeing and hearing differences hone our discriminating reflexes and can also lead to discrimination. If you take this MOOC, you will: 1. understand this paradox, 2. understand its dynamics, and 3. identify ways to manage it, so that you can better channel the diversity potential in the workplace for greater performance and innovation.

Из урока

Hi Diversity!

Welcome to the start of your learning journey! In this module, you will start to familiarize yourself with diversity concepts and their relevance in the workplace. First, you will learn about why diversity and inclusion are important for firms, and about the historical development of diversity and inclusion in firms. Next, you will be introduced to key diversity-related concepts and issues. Then, you will discover facts and figures for five diversity categories and the challenges that firms are facing to promote the inclusion of these diversity elements. By the end of this module, you will have a clear understanding of diversity concepts and their application to different diversity categories.

A brief history of diversity in the workplace6:24

Key diversity concepts3:59

The long and winding road to inclusion5:48

Познакомьтесь с преподавателями

Junko Takagi
Teaching Professor
Management Department, Chair of Leadership & Diversity

[MUSIC]

What exactly are we talking about when we talk about diversity in the workplace?

Diversity is a general term.

And a concept that doesn't inherently exist in some languages.

Which basically connotes different elements.

A term used in biology to describe the variety of species found in nature,

and the importance of biodiversity for the well-being of the planet.

The term has been applied to thinking about social differences in a similar way,

presenting differences as something that is not only natural, but

essential to social and organizational well being.

The managerial issues that come under the diversity umbrella

were not always associated with the term.

Diversity, as applied to the variety of social categories present

in the work place, is a fairly recent phenomenon.

As mentioned previously in A Brief History in Diversity, work on

diversity in the workplace began in the US under the heading of civil rights and

the right to equal opportunities.

During this time, terms such as inequality, desegregation and

discrimination were widely used.

And the term diversity had not yet seen the light of day.

In this period, programs to correct past inequalities,

such as affirmative action, also appeared.

It was only with the increasing backlash to these

practices that the term diversity emerged.

As a consequence of equal opportunities,

the dominant social group was being blamed for past social inequalities,

was being re-educated through corporate training programs, and

felt they were losing their privileges through affirmative action programs.

As tensions became palpable there was a repackaging of these management

issues under the term cultural diversity.

Which was seen as more inclusive, bringing together interests not only of minority

and underrepresented groups, but also of the dominant social group.

More recently we use integration and inclusion

to talk about diversity issues with an increasing preference for inclusion.

Integration refers to bringing diverse elements into the organization and

helping to make them feel comfortable within the shared organizational culture.

In other words, treat others as you want to be treated yourself.

Inclusion takes into account the identities and

preferences of individuals, so that they are able to excel and

contribute towards collective organizational objectives.

This may be rephrased as treat others as they want to be treated.

Do you see the subtle difference there?

Within a firm,

the first is a top-down approach to differences in which the emphasis

is placed on accompanying individuals to learn the organizational ropes.

The second is focused more on individuals and how to respect and

recognize their characteristics and qualities.

Whereas diversity by itself connotes bringing differences together and

creating a diverse working environment,

inclusion focuses more on the interactions and how to make diversity work.

We could say that diversity is more about the numbers, with

programs like diversity quotas that try to numerically diversify the workplace.

Inclusion addresses organizational culture, group interactions and

dynamics, and individual level attitudes and behaviors.

Nowadays, many firms refer to diversity and

inclusion in the same breath, and perceive the two as inseparable.

The flip sides of the same coin.

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